Uniti Group Inc.

Consolidated pro forma revenue and adjusted EBITDA were down 5% and 10% year over year, respectively, driven mainly by declines at Uniti Solutions and in legacy copper and TDM services. At Kinetic, Consumer Fiber revenue grew 19% year over year, fiber penetration reached 29%, and fiber subscribers ended at 603,000 after 38,000 net new adds. At Fiber Infrastructure, revenue and adjusted EBITDA grew 10% and 20% year over year, and bookings MRR was about $2.2 million, the highest on record. For full year 2026, Uniti now expects consolidated revenue of about $3.655 billion and adjusted EBITDA of about $1.475 billion at the midpoint, with consolidated net CapEx of about $1.525 billion. Kinetic guidance was raised to revenues of $2.145 billion and contribution margin of $905 million at the midpoint, with net CapEx of about $1.27 billion; Fiber Infrastructure guidance is $1 billion of revenue and $575 million of contribution margin at the midpoint, with net CapEx of $140 million; Uniti Solutions guidance is $700 million of revenue and $320 million of contribution margin at the midpoint.

Kenny Gunderman framed Uniti as a beneficiary of accelerating fiber demand, especially from hyperscalers and neo-clouds tied to AI-related use cases. He emphasized record bookings, a stronger-than-expected funnel, and a strategic shift from dark fiber buildout toward Waves and lit-capacity lease-up, while also highlighting that the company is building in unique routes where it believes it has an advantage. His tone was confident and upbeat, but he repeatedly stressed execution as the key next step.

Paul Bullington focused on the quarter’s operating metrics and raised guidance. He cited Kinetic’s 141,000 additional fiber passings, 38,000 net adds, 46% of the consumer footprint now passed with fiber, and the 603,000 subscriber ending balance; he also noted Consumer Fiber ARPU should be down low single digits year over year in Q3 before stabilizing in Q4. On capital, he said blended debt yields have fallen about 600 basis points over three years, from around 12.5% in February 2023 to around 6.5% today, and he highlighted a second ABS transaction at Kinetic that could help fund the fiber build and potentially support up to $500 million of secured debt paydown. He also said full-year Kinetic net CapEx guidance rose by $100 million because of the accelerated build plan and some pull-forward into 2027.

Analysts pressed on Kinetic ARPU pressure and the higher CapEx outlook. Management said ARPU should dip slightly year over year in Q3, then turn positive in Q4, with 2% to 3% ARPU accretion expected in 2027 and beyond, and explained that pricing actions are being used rationally against cable and telco promotions without chasing unprofitable growth. They also said the higher CapEx reflects some pull-forward of spending and a slightly higher expected cost of fiber materials in outer years, but that the existing cost-per-pass range still holds. On Fiber Infrastructure, management said some large deals may slip from late 2026 into early 2027 by weeks or a month or so, largely because these are large builds with multiple permitting authorities and contractors rather than due to a fundamental demand issue.